Regardless of where you live, the European Union not only affects your life, but may also transform it. By learning how Europe works, a new world will open up to you and
discover new jobs you never heard of.
The European Union has a large, yet often unnoticed, impact on many aspects of everybody’s life. We will analyze what the EU is doing for YOU regardless of where you live. We will also look at what YOU can do for and in Europe.
Whether you are traveling, eating, working, doing business, shopping, surfing the Internet or breathing, all these activities are largely shaped by the EU. As a result no global citizen, business leader, lawmaker, lobbyist or student can effectively operate in Europe or in the world without a solid understanding of this unique laboratory of integration.
While the EU is often depicted as a monstrous bureaucratic creature, condemned to irrelevance by the emerging economies, in 50 years it accomplished what other countries took centuries to realize. The EU remains the most accomplished experiment of economic, social and political integration in human history.
Given its inherent complexities, this Course aims at empowering you on what Europe can offer and will enable you to discover jobs and opportunities you were not aware of. Indeed, throughout the whole course, participants will be confronted with real-life examples of EU action. EU affairs professionals will share their personal EU experiences and tell us about their EU jobs. You will also be able to interact with the instructor and other participants, share your opinions, question the instructor’s assumptions and hence shape the course’s content.

Taught By

Alberto Alemanno

Transcript

[MUSIC] You won't be surprised to hear that the European Union does not only grant EU citizens and companies an area in which they can freely circulate, but it also guarantees the respect of a common set of values proper to the European Union. As we will learn from our next guest lecturer, Laurent Pech from Middlesex University in London, these values enlighten, not only the internal market functionning of the EU, but, also, its external actions, and contribute to European soft power. Please, Laurent, you have the floor. >> Dear participants, my name is Laurent Pech. I'm a professor of European law at Middlesex University in London. In this short presentation I will address the following question: what are the fundamental values of the European Union? I will also explain how the EU seeks to guarantee respect for its values, both within and beyond its borders. Before addressing these two points, let me make clear what is my key argument. I do believe that membership of the EU and, indeed, the mere promise of joining the EU has not only helped maintaining peace in Europe. It has also helped consolidating democracy, human rights and the rule of law, both within and beyond the EU. The fact that the EU strives to uphold and promote democracy, respect for human rights, and the rule of law should not come as a surprise. Indeed, according to the treaty of the European Union, the EU is said to be founded on these values. You have behind me the current text of article two of the treaty of the European Union. It is quite clear from a quick look at this strip of vision that the EU sees itself as a community of value. Historically speaking, the three most important values on which the EU was founded, in which the EU has tried to promote beyond its borders, have been respect for human rights, democracy and the rule of law. Now, this values have never been defined in the EU treaties and in practice it has been largely left to the EU institutions to flesh these values out. I would however argue that at minimum from the point of view of the EU, if you try to define these three values, I would say that from the point of view from the EU, democracy stands for representative democracy, a system of governance where elected officials draw their legitimacy and authority from free and regular elections. Regarding the rule of law, one may say that, from the point of view of the EU, it stands for a set of legal principles such as the principle of legality, legal certainty, or access to independent and impartial courts. Finally, but not least, by respect for human rights, the E.U. understands legal guarantees and remedies, with a view of insuring respect for individual civil and political rights, but also economic and social rights. Now, to return to article two of the TEU, you can see that, in addition to these three values which I've just defined, other values are mentioned. This inflated list of values, dare I say, is the product of the Lisbon Treaty, which added a number of values to the text of what is now Article two of the Treaty of the European Union. Just to give you two examples, respect for human dignity and respect for the rights of persons belonging to minorities are new values, or at least they're, they were inserted into the text of this treaty provision by the Lisbon Treaty, which and entered into force in 2009. More originally, perhaps, the EU Treaties further make clear that respect for promotion of the values of the Union is also one of the key transversal objectives of EU's foreign policy. The key treaty provision here is Article 21, on the Treaty on the European Union. As you can see, it provides that Union action on the international scene. should be guided by the values on which it is based, including for instance the rule of law. There is another interesting provision worth noting which is article 49 of the TEU. This provision concerns candidate countries, those countries which wish to become eventually members of the EU. Candidate countries, in other words, are countries which are formally on the road to EU membership. Article 49 of the Treaty on European Union means or provides that they must respect the values laid down in article two of the TEU. Now, how do we guarantee that candidate countries comply with the values on which the EU is based? Long story short, they are normally subject, the countries are normally subject to a rather meticulous screening process, after which, or rather during which, they are often required to significantly alter the national laws and governance structures so as to satisfy the so-called EU acquis. A French term which refers to a cumulative body of EU common rights and obligations binding for all EU member states. The EU acquis therefore doesn't include the values on which the EU is based. For a list of those values I have previously discussed, ,you have to look at article two of the treaty of the European Union. Now let me ask you a question. Should Bosnia become an official candidate for EU membership (which it is not currently), which one of the following requirements would this country have to meet to satisfy EU's conditions for membership of the Union? Option A, the presence of at least one-Michelin star restaurant in its capital city, which is Sarajevo, which may be already the case, I actually don't know. Option B, the adoption of Beethoven's ode to joy as the new national anthem of Bosnia-Herzegovina. Option C, stable institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human rights and respect for and protection of minorities. Finally, option D, building of new facilities to host the Winter Olympics. As you may remember actually in 1984 Sarajevo organized or welcomed the Winter Olympics. Now I'm going to give you some time to think about it. And the answer to the question regarding Bosnia is option C, the EU would require stable institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of low human rights, and respect for and protection of minorities from Bosnia, should Bosnia be granted the status of candidate country by the EU. Generally speaking, the enlargement of the EU, the process of expanding the EU for the accession of new countries, and lately Croatia was the latest candidate country to join the EU, is often cited, and rightly so, as one of the success stories. Of the 28 countries that constitute the EU today indeed almost half were authoritarian regimes shortly before joining. And the EU, I think it's fair to say, can claim substantial credit for the transition to democracy. Potential EU membership has indeed worked in practice as a powerful incentive. Furthermore pre-accession when entering negotiations tend to lead to what is known as a process of Europeanization. Not an easy word to say. By Europeanization, we, meaning essentially EU lawyers, describe the process by which candidate countries come to adopt and internalize European values and norms. [BLANK_AUDIO]

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